kick pedal...i don't know about changing the beater, but i know that DW5000 pedal is pretty killer when ya get it set right. plus it has a reversible beater, plastic or felt.i'd change the kick pedal.sorry about your guitar. finding the deadspot does ruin it to some degree. ever since first discovering the fender (bass) deadspot, i just avoid that middle C, or C# depending on the bass. my EGC didn't have a deadspot there, but on the 12th fret on the E string, and i had all these ghost notes on the A string from the 15th fret to the 17th, where it was like the note was doubled with the second note slightly out of tune.shit...hope busbus hasn't noticed these things or doesn't read this thread, or that those problems were just the effect of playing that bass while stoned all the time.anyways, to my knowledge, nothing you can really do about a deadspot. the fat finger moves it, some people claim a heavier bridge helps alleviate it, but there's no real cure. also, along with the fat finger you could put heavier tuners on the guitar. like those sperzel locking tuners. which should move it way, way up the neck.

Guitar question:One of my guitars has a dead spot. Not the fretting type of dead spot, but the sustainless type that one more usually finds on a bass. I've not encountered one on a guitar before and I don't know if there's anything I can do about it. I tried a Fatfinger, but that just moved the dead spot!Live with it? Drum questions:How do you know when to change your kick beater? Mine is a felt one and sounds ok to me, but are they supposed to be changed regularly, like heads?My kick pedal is from the 70s. Are modern ones 1000 times better, or is the snazzy kick-pedal thing just gear-lust? Mine is a bit squeaky (even oiled) so I'm tempted to change it, but they're so expensive! Leave it?Thanks!

the fat finger indeed just moves the dead spot. generally it moves it enough so it's not that much of a problem (for example, from the 6th fret to the 16th or something).i would say live with it. unless it's something like the third fret on the 6th string or something like that.my telecaster is all weird and fucked. the 3rd strings tends to break, and the first one feels weird, it's like the string is way too near the border of the guitar neck so it's a bit difficult to fiddle with it. i was pissed off with that, but then when i just play the guitar i forget about all that.

re: kick pedal - you should identify what the problem is and address that. most likely, the pedal you have is fine (unless it's a total POS pedal from the get-go). if it's slow on rebound, you can tighten the spring. if the spring is old and lost the springiness and at the end of the tightening ability - you can simply buy a new spring and replace it for like 5$. if the action is too slow or fast, you can also raise/lower the beater position to make the amount of distance it needs to travel longer/shorter. shorter makes for quicker action, but not as much force (correspondingly, not as loud)the beater itself can also be replaced if it's too 'marshmallowey. once you have the action adjusted to how you like it, then is the problem how it sounds hitting the drum? this can be changed out. just like on your guitar, do you want a harder/sharper attack on the drum, or more mellow - just like picking a different thickness pick. you can get a wood beater. plastic beater. new felt beater. any of the above. really, the only way to tell if you need something new or not is you figuring out if what you're hearing in your head is close to what you're hearing back from the drum.granted if the pedal is a total POS, you may not be able to make all those adjustements. the reason the good pedals are expensive is they are solidly built and modular, so once you do invest in a top level one, you should never have to buy another again.i have one main pedal and probably 4-5 beaters. i just switched beaters to a harder felt for my new band since i wanted a mellower attack, but there's nothing at all wrong with the one i was using and wouldn't hesitate to break it out if i played a show with the old band.

Thanks, there is some interesting stuff here. I shall further tinker with pedal and guitar...

that damned fly wrote:shit...hope busbus hasn't noticed these things or doesn't read this thread, or that those problems were just the effect of playing that bass while stoned all the time.I noticed the 12th fret on the E is a little less pronounced, yet not dead. Still sustains enough for me, especially with piles of distortion. I got all anal with the saddle adjustments on the A string and got the 15th-17th string area sounding as strong as their lower octave friends on the same string. I had to as that's my favorite area of a neck to play.

Dr. Venkman wrote:Some people have mentioned the plastic beater. If you rehearse frequently, or hit hard, you will burn through (expensive) kick drum heads like mad. This is absolutely true.I like slightly longer kick drum beaters anyway, so I always change them when I get a new pedal. (This is partially due to the fact that I really like a 26" kick drum. You really gotta kick that pig to get loud sounds out, and the extra leverage helps.)You actually need to replace the beater when it falls apart. You'll know. Otherwise, I find that getting a flat spot on a felt beater actually helps transfer more force to the face of the drum over a broader area and cuts down on the wear on the head. I like the Remo Powerstroke bass drum heads, and they come with a nice patch for protecting the head from abrasion over time. You will eventually wear through it though. Well, you will eventually wear through it if you're playing A LOT.

Some people have mentioned the plastic beater. If you rehearse frequently, or hit hard, you will burn through (expensive) kick drum heads like mad. This has been my experience, anyway. I think the narrowness of the DW-type reversible beater head is too focused in one spot, whether you flip it to the felt side or not. We just switched to the old standard felt beater mainly to make a forty-five dollar kick drum head last a bit longer.

busbus wrote:that damned fly wrote:shit...hope busbus hasn't noticed these things or doesn't read this thread, or that those problems were just the effect of playing that bass while stoned all the time.I noticed the 12th fret on the E is a little less pronounced, yet not dead. Still sustains enough for me, especially with piles of distortion. I got all anal with the saddle adjustments on the A string and got the 15th-17th string area sounding as strong as their lower octave friends on the same string. I had to as that's my favorite area of a neck to play.glad to hear it.

Benny wrote:my telecaster is all weird and fucked. the 3rd strings tends to break, and the first one feels weird, it's like the string is way too near the border of the guitar neck so it's a bit difficult to fiddle with it. i was pissed off with that, but then when i just play the guitar i forget about all that.SOunds like saddle and nut problems. To the tech with it!